Wednesday, March 13, 2013

NY Times: "Hold Generic Drug Makers Accountable"

I recently reported that the US Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in a case called Mutual Pharmaceutical v. Bartlett which asks the Court to decide whether a generic drug maker can be held liable for a design defect. See here. Three days ago, the New York Times published an editorial (available here) arguing the court should rule in favor of recognizing possible liability. The Times' position is based on the notion that we should not rely solely on the FDA as a regulatory agency to improve the quality of pharmaceutical products. As stated in the article, "Manufacturers should bear responsibility for making sure their drugs are
safe and effective. The Food and Drug Administration plays an important
role by approving drugs based on limited clinical trials and then
monitoring what happens when the drugs are widely used. But lawsuits are
important, too, as deterrents to negligence or wrongdoing. If the
Supreme Court shields the makers of generic drugs from consumer suits,
Congress ought to amend the laws"